HorrorVale

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A Halloween-town RPG: a skeleton girl searches the Underworld for her zombie dog.

Platforms: PC
Price: Paid
Rated: Very Positive on Steam (99% of 436 reviews)
Length: over 50 hours, by the maker's count
Players: 1
Made by: BatWorks Software
Released: 2024

What frightens Horror is its costume rather than its aim: every monster, ghost and zombie of classic horror films lives in its town and Underworld, and the battles, bosses and maps are dressed as a Halloween night, but it plays for charm and jokes, not for fright.
Content: cartoon violence.

HorrorVale is a long turn-based RPG set in a town where zombies live next door and ghosts hide in the bathroom. You play Alice, crossing a spooky Underworld to rescue her zombie dog Scruffy, recruiting more than 30 party members on the way. It is spooky and full of horror-film references, but cute and funny rather than frightening.

About HorrorVale

HorrorVale is a traditional turn-based role-playing game by BatWorks Software, released on Steam on 1 October 2024 after years of demos. Its town is one where the neighbours are zombies, reanimated monsters deliver the mail and ghosts live in the bathroom, and when strange new monsters invade, Alice sets out across the Underworld to save her zombie dog, Scruffy.

The story runs over four acts. You explore spooky streets, creepy woods and bogs, fight in turn-based battles with a spooky spin, solve puzzles and take on some 60 side quests. More than 30 characters can join your party, each with their own abilities and story, and experience is shared across the whole roster, so you can swap members in freely.

This is a horror-themed game rather than a horror game. The art is bright pixel art in purples and oranges, health is counted in skulls and pumpkins, and the cast and enemies are drawn from monster movies and horror culture, with many references to spot. Players compare it to Undertale and The Nightmare Before Christmas: charming, often funny, sometimes a little dark, never meant to scare.

It suits players who want the feel of Halloween in a long RPG, younger or easily scared players who like the look of horror without the fear, and anyone who enjoys collecting a large party. If you want to be frightened, the psychological and survival horror pages are the place to look.

How to play HorrorVale

Buy and install HorrorVale from its Steam page (Windows).
Explore the town and the Underworld from a top-down view, talking to the residents and picking up side quests.
When a battle starts, choose Attack, Abilities, Guard, Items or Escape for each party member in turn.
Recruit new party members as you meet them and swap them in; experience is shared, so benched members keep up.
Follow the four acts of the story to reach Scruffy.

Screenshots

HorrorVale battle: Alice casts Bone Barrage at a pale ghost bear among giant candies, the party's health shown as skulls and pumpkins

HorrorVale battle in a dark forest against two green hooded ghosts carrying lanterns

HorrorVale exploration: an armoured party member faces a giant spider-like boss in a purple crystal cave

Tips

Experiment with your party: shared experience means trying a new member costs nothing.
Do the side quests as they appear; they tell each party member's story and fill most of the playtime.
Use Guard and items on bosses rather than only attacking.